DISABLED WOMAN'S ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION DESTROYED

SCOTT WENGER ; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

C Trapped inside her demolished van in a secluded ravine off a state highway in Glastonbury, Linda L. Myers feared she was forever stranded. Rescued last week and home from the hospital, Myers feels stranded again.

Myers was born with muscular dystrophy, and her only means of getting around -- her wheelchair and her specially equipped van -- were crushed in the crash.

Without automobile collision insurance, the 40-year-old former state police dispatcher said she has no hope of paying for repairs.

"I only make $800 a month [in Social Security disability assistance], and I can't afford to buy another wheelchair and another van," said Myers, who has difficulty working because of her illness.

Authorities have no strong leads on the identity of the trucker who Myers said forced her off the road.

"I was hoping somebody would have a heart and come forward," Myers said, explaining that she hoped the insurance policy of the unknown driver of the flatbed truck could help her with repair costs, which she estimates at $20,000.

"I was run off the road," she said. "It wasn't my fault." Myers has said the only reason she survived the early-morning accident on Route 2 last Thursdaywas the help of another trucker, who heard her calling for help on her citizens band radio.

After 12 cold hours inside her demolished van with her dog, Honey, Myers managed to wire together her CB radio, cellular telephone and the battery from her electric wheelchair to call for help.

She said about 25 motorists ignored or disbelieved her broadcast that she was stuck hundreds of feet below the eastbound lanes in a ravine. Finally, trucker Ernie Paradis of Montville stopped.

Myers said she is grateful to Paradis.

But she also wants help in regaining her only means of transportation. She's hoping the driver whose truck forced her from the highway, or a witness, will call state police investigators in Hartford.